‘Weird Al’ Yankovic has made news with his first-ever number one record. His 14th studio album, Mandatory Fun, debuted at the top of the charts with the help of popular parodies “Foil” and “Word Crimes”. Now at the end of his record deal, Yankovic admitted that he is probably done putting out “conventional albums.” In an interview with Headlines & Global News, the comedian said, “I think the most likely scenario is that, going forward, I’ll be more of a singles artist and just release tracks as soon as I write and record them.” He went on in the interview to talk about the importance of his music videos, the duality of the Internet and the potential to work with other comedy artists like The Lonely Island. The far-ranging interview also touched on how Yankovic goes about choosing the songs he’ll parody:

I look at the billboard charts. I listen to the radio, I try to see what’s making a buzz online, and I make a master list of songs that I think would be good candidates, good targets for parody. And then I go down that list and I try my best to come up with a good parody idea for each of them. Sometimes I can think of a decent idea, and sometimes, not so much. So if all the planets align correctly, and I’m able to find a popular song and come up with a funny idea and the artist approves that, then I’ll move ahead.

Do does Yankovic get the original artists’ approval?

I can get away with doing it without their approval – but that’s not the way I’ve ever done business. I think historically, I’ve always gotten the blessing of the artist because I just think that’s taking the ethical high road. I’ve always respected artists, and I want to make sure they feel like they’re in on the joke. And I think that might be part of the reason why I’ve been able to hang around in this industry as long as I have: I don’t burn any bridges. I want to make sure that everybody is OK with what I do.